Artist Residency Grants

Artist Residency Grants are offered by the Delaware Division of the Arts to support artist residencies in eligible Delaware education settings. The program is designed for visual, literary, performing, or media artists working with students in classrooms or with teachers in professional development workshops. The Division’s stated goals are to actively engage students in the creative process with professional artists, provide new arts knowledge and skills to classroom teachers and arts specialists, and facilitate teaching opportunities for teaching artists. Eligible applicants include Delaware Pre K-12 public, charter, private, and parochial schools with an established arts curriculum and staff. Not-for-profit agencies incorporated in Delaware that are licensed to provide services for preschool students from pre-K through kindergarten are also eligible. Artist residencies are intended to augment, not replace, existing arts programs, and proposed activities must be connected to regular standards-based curriculum or professional development plans. Proposed activities and objectives must align with Delaware’s Visual and Performing Arts Standards. Applicants may request funding for artist residencies that support classroom learning under teacher supervision or professional development workshops with teachers. A public assembly may be included as part of the artist’s visit, but it may not be the only purpose of the visit. Where practical, the Division encourages a public component, such as a performance, exhibit, or presentation open to the broader community. Residencies must be scheduled for at least three days, and artist days do not need to be consecutive. Grant funding may cover up to 75 percent of artist fees, with support not to exceed $450 per day for individual artists. The applicant school or organization is responsible for all contractual obligations with the artist and for all costs beyond Division grant funding, including costs covered by the host site or other sources. Funding awarded in the FY2028 grant cycle must be spent on projects taking place between September 1, 2027, and August 31, 2028. Applications are submitted online through smARTDE. The application requires a school profile, narrative responses describing the project and how it meets the evaluation criteria, a project budget, a letter of intent or contract with the artist, the artist’s current professional resume, and artist work samples. Applications are reviewed internally by Division staff in conjunction with the Division Director, and the Director makes final funding decisions. Residency applications are evaluated based on whether there is a public component where practical, the qualifications of participating artists, integration of the arts activity into curriculum, educational programming, or professional development activities, connection to Delaware Visual and Performing Arts Standards, projected goals and measurable results, and inclusion of teachers or on-site coordinators in planning and execution. Applicants are notified in smARTDE and by email within four weeks of submission. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis but must be submitted at least six weeks before the scheduled residency begins. The listed contact is Kristin Pleasanton, Deputy Director, at 302-577-8284.

Align the residency with Delaware Visual and Performing Arts Standards; show how the project integrates into existing curriculum or professional development; document participating artist qualifications; include measurable goals and expected results; involve teachers or on-site coordinators in planning and execution; include a public component where practical